Dragons Conquer America is a game of historical fantasy based on the European invasion of America in the 16th century. Whilst the game setting is based on historical fact and includes events which took place during the Mesoamerican War of Conquest along with the historical nations and characters, it is also rife with fantasy elements. Powerful magic, mystic forces, and mythical creatures such as fairies and dragons are present. Indeed, thanks to Saint George taming and converting a dragon in the 3rd century, dragons have been part of the Catholic world for over a thousand years. Along with dragon riders.

Dragons Conquer America is a new tabletop roleplaying game brought to us from Burning Games, the Spanish company behind the multi-award nominated FAITH: A Garden in Hell. Whilst FAITH is a science fiction RPG the Burning Games team have turned to historic fantasy for their latest game. The 111-page Dragons Conquer America: The Coatli Stone Quickstart is available to download from DriveThruRPG now, ahead of a Kickstarter campaign launching on 1st November. The Quickstart includes Episode 0: The Coatli Stone, a prologue adventure to the setting as well as a rundown on the rules and some information on the setting. Players and Gamemasters are invited to send feedback on how the adventure in the Quickstart played out and their combined results will influence the future of the game world. Something that Burning games are eager to carry on doing through the entire Dragons Conquer America line. Having the players directly able to influence the direction of the world and the outcome of the war.

The Kickstarter will look at funding the Episodes I & II hardcover book. This book will lay the foundation of the setting of Dragons Conquer America and will contain the core rules, pre-clash setting, and the first two campaigns – Episode I: The Eight Omens and Episode II: Cortes’ Ploy. There will also be a Pioneer Set exclusive to Kickstarter. This will take the form of a deluxe box set that not only includes the Episode I & II hardcover but also 8 pre-gen character folios, a GM Screen, two NPC Decks, two Player Decks, and a map of Tenochtitlan.

The campaigns will allow you to live this epic clash of civilizations from the perspectives of both sidesm the Native Americans as well as the Castilians.

The game uses a version of the RPC Engine, that is the same system Burning Games used in FAITH: The Sci-Fi RPG. The system is a card based one, so you’ll need a deck of playing cards instead of a bag of dice to play the game. Although for those of you out there who NEED to feel dice in your hand and hear them rolling across your gaming table there’s no need to fear… an optional dice-based variation of the mechanics is included too.

It is the year 1519 of the Christian Era, and Ce Acatl (1 Reed) of the Mexica Calendar Cycle. It’s a time of great changes and portents, marking the prophesied return of the Lord of Tollan to the Valley of Anahuac.

Columbus died years ago, forgotten after making his famous discovery of the West Indies – or the New World, as most people call this unexpected land now, since they learned it isn’t another side of Asia as previously thought, but a whole new continent.

As European governments decide what to do with the discovery and its potential riches, their first settlers, armed with transoceanic ships, guns – and dragons – have ruled over the New World’s easternmost islands for almost thirty years now.

However, the invaders have not yet discovered what lies beyond their island domains. The Hispaniola outposts, long established as the beachhead of European power in the New World, have already determined there is a larger continent to the West, and sailed its coasts – but so far no major mainland expedition has managed to overcome their warlike tribes and treacherous terrain.

Beyond these unwelcoming coasts, still unknown, lies the Valley of Anahuac, home to the Excan Tlahtoloyan – the Triple Alliance of the Aztec peoples. It is one of the oldest and best organised empires the world has ever known, encompassing hundreds of city-states, all of which pay tribute to the mightiest civilization in the planet: the Mexica of Tenochtitlan. For nearly a hundred years, the Mexica have rules over the land of the Fifth Sun unchallenged, striking fear in the hearts of their enemies thanks to the divine power of their priests and the help of their mixcoatl dragon allies, which terrorise and astonish the peoples under Mexica domain.

This is all about to change.

A single man – persecuted by the law, estranged from the Crown of Spain and followed by a band of sellswords and adventurers 0 is poised to start the most significant war of conquest the world has ever known.

The opposition he will face, though, is far beyond what he can expect…

THE SPANISH EXPEDITION FORCE
Contrary to the popular belief of future generations, the invading force that just arrived to the New World is not a sanctioned group of disciplined soldiers under the command of a duly-appointed general. That is how the Spanish Crown would have liked it, yes; however, Cortes and his crewmates are not soldiers, but adventuring nobles – brave and ambitious thrill seekers and treasure hunters looking to make their fortune in the unexplored land. They wear no uniform but their mismatched armour suits, and no flag but the Catholic God.

This ragtag mercenary group has just arrived to the coats of the New World, without the sanction or permission of Cortes’ immediate superior – and, recently, sworn enemy - the Governor of Cuba. They are mutineers; they are rebels. If their attempt to settle this land and plunder its riches fails, Spain will have them imprisoned – or worse. Their very lives depend on the gamble they’ve just played, and they’re not about to return home empty-handed. To quell dissent among his men, Cortes has scuttled his ships, tied his dragons and founded a new settlement in the name of the Castilian Kings: Villa Rica De La Vera Cruz. From there, he intends to conquer the surrounding lands – or die trying.

THE AZTEC TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Meanwhile, the Excan Tlahtoloyan – the Triple Alliance – of the Anahuac has gotten wind of the Spaniards’ first contacts with other peoples from the New World, from their first skirmishes in Mayan coasts a few years back to their several unsuccessful attempts to go deeper into their territory. Moctecuhzoma II the Xocoyotzin, Huey Tlatoani of all Aztec peoples and de facto leader of the Triple Alliance, has already sent messengers to dissuade the new arrivals from pressing on to Tenochtitlan. If they are the Lords of Tollan returned, as the prophecy goes, they are a challenge to the rule of Moctecuhzoma and his peers; if they are not, they remain unknown invaders, armed with unknown weapons and – apparently – Mixcoatl dragons of their own; they must be stopped from making any progress.

The other leaders of the Triple Alliance – Cacama of Texcoco and Tetlepanquetzal of Tlacopan – are similarly restless. Cacama in particular is in grave danger, as his younger brother Ixtlilxochitl covets his throne, and would not be above seeking an alliance with the invaders to obtain it. Ixtlilxochitl has not forgotten in was Moctecuhzoma’s Mixcoatl dragons which pressed the Texcoca council into choosing his brother over him; he is more loyal to any enemy of the Mexica than to the Triple Alliance itself.

In fact, there are many vassal states currently suffering under the Exzcan Tlahtoloyan, if the invaders turned out hostile, many of these oppressed peoples would gladly side with them against the Mexica and their allies. Moctecuhzoma’s messengers have several tasks ahead of them: they must study the newcomers and gauge their forces; they must dissuade them from going any nearer the Anahuac; and they must prevent enemy tribes from allying with them.

Artwork can sway the imagination... I bought Grim and Perilous and I have a hard time reading it. Because the art isn't to my taste, even thou it might be a great system. This preview makes me want to purchase it even thou I dont know if I want to play it.

Very Temeraire (particularly Crucible of Gold), although this seems a bit more well developed (I liked the Temeraire books, but they felt less well developed when they left western Europe).

You think so?
I found the descriptions of how the exotic nations worked quite nice. The right mix of showing and hinting.

I wonder how well this will lend itself to a Temeraire RPG after stripping out all the magic. The main obstacle will likely be dragon combat as this game seems to go for the traditional single rider instead of the crewed dragons in Temeraire.

Has anyone played something this company has put out? How was it? Or as a Spanish company, is all their previous stuff in Spanish?

This does, of course, look stupendous, and so I might pick it up just for the imagination drug fix it'll provide, but will it be playable?

FAITH, their sci-fi RPG, is available in English and was nominated for am ENnie (Best Production Values) and 3 Golden Geek Awards (including Best Game and Best Artwork). Looking at the rewviews Google throws up it looks like it's pretty highly regarded by reviewers too.

You think so?
I found the descriptions of how the exotic nations worked quite nice. The right mix of showing and hinting.

A lot of the stuff outside Western Europe that was historical (and not made up for the sake of dragons) to me read a lot like the author had lightly researched it, but hadn't actually communicated with anyone either from the cultures or who were more intimately familiar. The Incan, African, and Chinese characters often came across as Europeans with different skin tones and clothes. They had affectations, not genuinely different cultural behaviors.

I wonder how well this will lend itself to a Temeraire RPG after stripping out all the magic. The main obstacle will likely be dragon combat as this game seems to go for the traditional single rider instead of the crewed dragons in Temeraire.

It probably depends on if the system includes a naval combat system at all (since that would be more applicable to how Novik portrayed dragon combat, especially in the earlier books). The era they are going for is really about 50 years before the "Age of Sail" really took off, so it may not make a lot of sense to include naval rules unless the timeline for the game moves forward significantly at some point.

A lot of the stuff outside Western Europe that was historical (and not made up for the sake of dragons) to me read a lot like the author had lightly researched it, but hadn't actually communicated with anyone either from the cultures or who were more intimately familiar. The Incan, African, and Chinese characters often came across as Europeans with different skin tones and clothes. They had affectations, not genuinely different cultural behaviors.

It probably depends on if the system includes a naval combat system at all (since that would be more applicable to how Novik portrayed dragon combat, especially in the earlier books). The era they are going for is really about 50 years before the "Age of Sail" really took off, so it may not make a lot of sense to include naval rules unless the timeline for the game moves forward significantly at some point.

For me it was "good enough". For are really correct portrayal of foreign cultures you would need to live there for years and I do not expect that kind of dedication from an author. Not to mention that many cultures from the book do not exist any more.
Only the modern swear words were a bit off putting.

But those are minor complains compared to the, for me, upsides if the book. The mixing of real history with a little bit of fantasy and the deviation from the Pern/Eragon style dragon riders (even though the bond between the captain and the dragon goes into that direction) towards crewed dragons (which when you think about it is quite sensible. They make awesome archer or gunner platforms)

And speaking of foreign cultures, I found the innate dragon culture to be well done, especially their concept of ownership. The right mix of being alien but still relatable.

EN World Reviews

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